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Friday, October 29, 2004

VATICAN CITY, OCT 29, 2004 (VIS) - Participants in the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace were welcomed by Pope John Paul this morning who, in his talk to them, highlighted how the social doctrine of the Church can assist Christians in their daily lives and guide them in their commitment to help make the world a place of peace, justice and solidarity.

The Pope had special words for participants in the First World Congress of Ecclesial Offices Working for Justice and Peace, noting that they had "reflected on the most adequate forms for proclaiming the Gospel in the complex realities of our times."

He referred to the recently published Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, calling it "an instrument that can help Christians in their daily commitment to make the world more just, in the Gospel perspective of a humanism that is truly solidary." He asked that the Church's social doctrine "be made known, spread in its entirety and witnessed to with a constant and coherent pastoral action."

"In times like ours," John Paul II added, "marked by globalization of the social question, the Church invites everyone to recognize and affirm the centrality of the human person in every milieu and in every manifestation of sociality." He underscored how the social doctrine "opens people up to the horizons of charity. In fact, this is the hour of charity, including social and political charity, that is capable of animating, with the grace of the Gospel, the human realities of work, the economy and politics, pointing out the paths of peace, justice and friendship among peoples."AC/SOCIAL DOCTRINE:CON-IP/MARTINO VIS 20041029 (280)